StarJa Terms of Service and Disclaimer

1. What we do and do not do

StarJa (“the service”) gives a business a QR code and a page so that customers who genuinely visited can put their own thoughts into words, and then copy and post those words to Google themselves. We never write, post, edit, remove, dispute or fabricate reviews, and we make no promise about the content, number, star rating or ranking outcome of any review.

2. Your account

The phone number and email address you use to register and sign in are the keys to the account: if you forget your password, the code or reset link is sent there, so whoever can receive texts at that number or read that inbox can get into the account. Look after them and your password, and if your number or email address changes, update it in your merchant centre straight away. If you think your password has leaked, just use “Forgot password” on the sign-in page and set a new one. You are responsible for everything done under the account. One person or one company should not register multiple accounts to get around usage limits. Where we find this, we may close the accounts involved.

3. Permitted use

Enter accurate details about your business; place the QR code at your own premises; give the QR code to customers who genuinely visited and were genuinely served; inviting every customer alike is the use this service is designed for.

4. Prohibited use

Any of the following can lead to your account being suspended or closed: scanning, ticking or posting on a customer’s behalf, or posting from any account that is not the customer’s own; exchanging money, discounts, gifts, prize draws or any other benefit for a review; giving the QR code only to customers who seem happy, or intercepting those about to leave a poor review. Those three are also prohibited by Google, so the consequences do not stop with us - they land on your own Google Business Profile (see “Google decides its own review rules”). Separately: the business categories, service lists and experience wording in this service are written and owned by us, and are provided only for you to choose from for your own locations inside this service. They may not be copied, stored elsewhere, republished, or used in any other product, website, dataset or model training; you may not use the service for anything unconnected to the business you actually run; and you may not reverse-engineer, bulk-scrape or attack the service. If you do any of these, we will pursue legal remedies and seek compensation for the resulting losses and our reasonable costs of enforcement. The way this service detects and limits abuse - how each limit is decided, and its parameters and thresholds - is our confidential business information. You may not disclose it, publish an analysis of it, or use what you learn about it to help anyone work around it. This does not restrict you from publicly sharing your opinion of, or your experience with, the service itself.

5. We do not monitor, and we do not police on Google’s behalf

We cannot see who you hand the QR code to, and we do not go looking — that is neither within our means nor our obligation. But if we receive a complaint, if Google or our payment provider requires it, or if abuse is obvious, we may suspend your account - the 30-day window for requesting a refund of unused credits keeps running during a suspension and is not extended by it. We may also close your account, in which case unused credits are handled under “Credits are non-refundable”.

6. Google decides its own review rules

Google runs its own review screening and filtering. Reviews may not appear, may appear late, or may be removed afterwards; your Google Business Profile may also be restricted or suspended. Google decides these things alone — we cannot predict them, cannot influence them, and are not responsible for them.

7. No promise of results

We do not promise a higher rating, more reviews, or better search ranking.

8. How credits are deducted

Once a customer successfully generates a review, credits are deducted whatever the reason, whether or not the customer goes on to Google Maps and whether or not the review is finally posted. The same customer at the same location is counted once per 24 hours.

9. Pricing may change

How many credits each review costs is the rate shown for that location on the top-up page in your merchant centre. We may adjust these rates. The current rate is always shown on the top-up page in your merchant centre, and that is the rate that applies. Any increase is sent to your merchant centre inbox in advance, with the date it takes effect. That message cannot be deleted, and both when it was sent and when you read it are recorded. Decreases apply immediately and we do not send a notice for them. If you have given us an email address we will also try to email you about an increase, but the notice does not depend on it.

10. Credits are non-refundable

Credits you have spent are non-refundable, non-transferable and cannot be cashed out. Credits already spent are not returned if Google filters or removes the review — what you pay for is the assisted drafting, not the publishing outcome. The exceptions, in which you may ask for a refund of your UNUSED credits: within 30 days of buying them, no reason needed; or if we stop offering the service, in which case ask within 30 days of the service ending. Refunds go back the way they came.

11. Availability

We work to keep the service stable, but we do not guarantee it will be uninterrupted or error-free. Maintenance, upgrades, third-party outages and events beyond our control can all cause temporary unavailability. We restore service as quickly as we can.

12. Content and liability

A review posted to Google belongs to the customer who wrote it and is their responsibility. The business name, photo, public phone number and Google listing link you enter are your responsibility; you confirm you have the right to use them and that they infringe nobody else, and if a rights holder complains we may take the content down first. To the fullest extent permitted by law the service is provided “as is”, and we are not liable for indirect loss, loss of business or loss of goodwill arising from use of, or inability to use, the service. If a third party brings a claim, complaint or legal action against us because of the content you provide or the way you use the service, you will handle it and reimburse us for the resulting losses and reasonable costs.

13. Termination

You may stop using the service at any time and ask us to delete your account. We may also terminate the service if you breach these terms. After termination your business details are handled under the privacy policy, and unused credits under “Credits are non-refundable”.

14. Changes to these terms

The first time you use the service (when you register, or first save a location) we ask you to accept these terms once. After that, when the terms change, we tell you through your merchant centre inbox; a notice counts as delivered once it is sent, and we update the full text here. Changes that work against you (for example a higher credit rate or stricter deduction rules) are sent in advance with the date they take effect; changes in your favour, or that do not affect your rights, take effect when sent. Continuing to use the service after a change takes effect means you accept it. If you do not accept it, you may stop using the service at any time and ask us to delete your account. Inbox messages cannot be deleted, and when each was sent and when you read it are recorded. If you have given us an email address we will also try to email you about important changes, but delivery of the notice does not depend on it.

15. Who may register and use this service

By registering you confirm that you have reached the age at which, under the laws of the country or region where you live, you can enter into a contract on your own, and that those laws allow you to use this service and to receive any money it generates, including referral rewards. Laws differ from place to place; the age and conditions that apply are those of your own jurisdiction, and it is for you to confirm them. If we find, or have reasonable grounds to believe, that you do not meet them, we may close your account and stop paying out anything not yet settled.

16. Test locations

A test location is what a promoter uses to demonstrate the service to a business. Its features are limited, and it is deleted automatically once the period we set has passed. That period may change; the time remaining on each test location is shown in your merchant centre and is what counts.

The customer page of a test location carries a line, “I am the owner, we do not want it - please remove us”. Only the person responsible for the business may tap it; a promoter must not tap it on their behalf. Once they tap it and confirm, the test location is deleted and that business cannot be added again for some time afterwards.

You are responsible for any test location you create and for how you use it, and you must not present a test location as any business’s official page. Any liability arising from that use is yours.

17. Your referrer

A referrer is set per location: each live location has at most one, fixed at the moment that location goes live, in this order:
(1) if someone else first set the location up as a test location and then handed it to you with a transfer code, the person who handed it over is the referrer;
(2) otherwise, if you signed up with someone’s invite code or invite link, the person who invited you is the referrer;
(3) in any other case, the location has no referrer.
Once set, the referrer stays with that Google listing and normally does not change: not when the location moves to another account, and not when it is deleted and added again. We may adjust it where we find a mistake, a dispute or abuse. An invite code only works when you sign up; it cannot be added or changed afterwards. The referrer is shown in your location list.

18. What the person who referred you can see

The referrer shown in your location list can see, from their own account, the basic details of those locations, all of which is information you have already made public. The referrer can also see each time one of your locations uses StarJa and how many credits it was charged, because their referral rewards are calculated from that. As the person who referred you, seeing this lets them help you catch mistakes and get in touch if something needs sorting out. The referrer cannot see your credit balance, your top-ups, your refunds, or your account password.

19. Contact

If you have any question about these terms, write to [email protected].